This past Sunday, the pastor of my church preached a message on Christian love and how church members should be demonstrating it. He showed the above video during the message to illustrate his point. The video is a parody and exaggerated, but it nevertheless holds a lot of truth. Most Christians are only interested in what they can get from going to church. Today he wrote up a pretty good post to his blog about it. Here is a little excerpt from his blog:
"Too many believers are more preoccupied with being blessed than being a blessing. We have bought into a greedy, indulgent message thinly veiled behind prosperity. Where preachers are known for being slick salesmen and not the servants of all. Jesus came to give us life that overflows with so much love, joy, and hope that it spills on everyone we know and come into contact with."The message really struck me. Way too often Christians, me included, are not radiating that love and joy that we should have.
I encourage you to follow the link below and read his entire post.
Something random. something inspiring: Overflowing?
6 comments:
This seems to be a good church, that you have found, at least a good pastor!
Hypocrisy is so widespread.
In many cases pharisees claim (and believe) to be the real christians.
You must have a really good pastor? Just kidding, thanks for the remarks...
Well, of course I do. one of the best. LOL
Not being sure if it is easy to understand what I wrote the day before:
I think christianity must be very close to that what we know about the live and actions of Jesus Christ. His life IS love and tolerance. For every christian this should be the canon. How it is written in the New Testament.
There are so many so very nice examples. Every christian knows the narration what happened when JC met a prostitute. Make a simple test: arrange a similar situation nowadays and observe how much love and respect you will find among those so-called christians. Every christian should know how to behave, what attitude JC wanted to express by his doing. But I'm rather sure in reality you will find a lot of arrogance and condemnation.
The New Testament is "New", because there are these very important new aspects: love and tolerance.
For me it is the absolute base for christianity, without that it is definitely not possible being a christ.
Many "christians" seem to remain in the philosophy of the Old Testament. What Jesus in many aspects tried to transcend.
That's why I sometimes say: if Jesus would live today many priests and church-people would be thrown out of the "temple" as he did with those pharisees.
I'm not sure that I completely agree with you Alexander.
I do agree that many of the leaders and members in our churches today are not following Jesus' example. But I don't see Jesus ministry being about tolerance. Jesus was NOT tolerant of sin and rebellion against God.
What he did preach, was love and forgiveness. I think that might be where the confusion comes in.
Forgiveness and tolerance are not the same thing. They aren't mutually exclusive either, but they really aren't the same.
I'm not sure which incident with the prostitute you are referring to since you didn't give a reference. I'm assuming you probably meant the incident in John 8 where the Pharisees brought out a woman caught in adultery.
In that incident, Jesus was not accepting or tolerating her actions. He was telling the Pharisees, who were going to stone her, that their sins were just as condemning as hers were. In effect he was saying they were no better than she was.
That does not mean he accepted her actions. In fact, at the end of the account he tells her not to do it again.
John 8:10-11
10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
Basically I meant Luke 7:36-50.
(different english online-versions are here: www.diebibel.de )
John 8:10-12 is a very good extension.
In Luke 7 Jesus accepted in a litteral way the woman, in a nearly initmate way for those times (she had opened her hair as in bedroom, touched him....). He accepted her because he saw in her the human being, the "Child of God". He saw her giving love and her searching for love. He knew about her doing but he reached her the hand, he was like a bridge. A bridge to love, to God and a bridge between the different people in the room. He did not condemn her, even if he knew what she was doing and I don't think he considered it as good! He did not avoid her. He was not the "OldTestamentarian" defender, the warrior.
Yes, it is right, also in this incident Jesus forgave the woman. But I'm not sure if it is MY right to forgive other people (in this special or general way). I consider myself as somebody who shouldn't throw the first stone, who better should be a bridge to love and the good (and God).
Tolerating a person, a human being does not imply considering all of his/her doing or behaviour as good or closing my eyes. Tolerance is being that "bridge to the good" even if there are differences. The more it is different the more it is real "power", the power of Jesus, the power of love.
Jesus was this bridge. And he fought for being it. And he fought against the "custodians" who tried to block this way - even "in the name of God".
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